Scan barcode
cady_sass's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
It’s difficult for me to fairly rate this book because I inadvertently watched the film before reading, not realizing it had been a novel first, when I prefer to & always try to read the original work before watching any film. I feel that if I hadn’t watched the movie first I would’ve rated this lower. I was able to invision these characters, who were quite brilliantly portrayed in the movie, and to fill in gaps in description and prose that this translation leaves to be desired. I’m sure that the original Spanish is closer to what I would’ve expected going into this- a painful, cringe inducing, car-crash of a situation between a brilliant but cold academic woman who abandoned her children at a young age to pursue self identity and a young mother struggling with her own daughter and identity. It’s quite remarkable at its core but the English prose (again, I assume due to the translation, which is ironic because the protagonist is a translator by trade) is dry and abrupt.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol
yasmin_raev's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Pregnancy
Moderate: Fatphobia and Alcohol
Minor: Infidelity, Physical abuse, and Blood